SNK vs. Capcom (series)

''SNK vs. Capcom'', or alternately ''Capcom vs. SNK'', is a series of crossover video games by either Capcom or SNK featuring characters that appear in games created by either company. Most of these are fighting games, and take on a similar format to Capcom's own ''Marvel vs. Capcom'' series, in which the players create teams of fighters and have them fight each other. Games in this series either contain ''SNK vs. Capcom'' or ''Capcom vs. SNK'' in their titles, with the first company named denoting the company behind the game's development.

Reception to the series has been varied; while the Capcom-developed titles were the most positively-received (and are still widely well regarded by critics), the SNK-developed installments received more mixed reviews by the time of its releases, although these have been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, now being considered cult classics by players and critics alike. A collectible card game spin-off series, '' SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters'', was also produced between 1999 and 2006

History

The supposed origin behind this series was an issue of ''Arcadia'' magazine in which there were articles covering both ''The King of Fighters '98'' and ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'', both of which were released at around the same time. Readers had misread the cover, which said ''KOF vs. SF'', to mean that there was a fighting game that would pit characters from ''Street Fighter'' and ''The King of Fighters''. Because of this uproar, in 1999, Capcom and SNK supposedly signed a deal that would allow them to produce only two fighting games concerning both franchises.

Series hiatus

In a 2021 interview with ''Polygon'', director Hideaki Itsuno confirmed that at one point, there had been plans for a new, 3D installment in the series, but that it had been cancelled due to SNK's bankruptcy. The 3D assets created for ''Capcom vs. SNK 3'' were later repurposed for the cancelled '' Capcom Fighting All-Stars''; said project was set to include ''The King of Fighters'' protagonist Kyo Kusanagi as a guest character during its planned release after a deal was struck with the then-reformed SNK Playmore. There were interviews with SNK that it would be possible to renew their contract with Capcom to make new ''SNK vs. Capcom'' games, but in another interview, both companies stated that they would not do any further collaboration with each other, claiming ''SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS'' would probably be the last crossover game between both companies. However, in an interview from January 2009, Yoshinori Ono, the producer of ''Street Fighter IV'', expressed interest in a possible third game if fans demanded it.

While no new ''SNK vs. Capcom'' titles have been released since ''Card Fighters DS'', characters from both companies have appeared together in a handful of titles by other developers, including Bandai Namco's ''Tekken 7'', Nintendo's ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', and Cygames' ''Granblue Fantasy''.

Crossover appearances and re-releases

'' SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium'' and '' SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash'' were re-released for the first time in 2021 and 2022 respectively on Windows and Nintendo Switch. In March 2022, ''Street Fighter'' characters were added to Netmarble and SNK's ''The King of Fighters All Star''. In August 2022, SNK and Capcom artists Eisuke Ogura and Shinkiro – the latter of whom is currently at Capcom after famously working at SNK – created special promotional posters featuring both companies' characters to celebrate the 2022 Evolution Championship Series tournament, the first live EVO since the COVID-19 pandemic. In a subsequent interview, SNK producer Yasuyuki Oda stated that "both parties" were interested in a potential revival of the series. Oda stated in a later interview that the EVO artwork opened the doors for further collaboration between the two companies.

Multiple crossovers between SNK and Capcom were announced throughout 2024. At Summer Game Fest in June, both Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui were revealed as part of ''Street Fighter 6''s second season of downloadable content, making them the first third-party guest characters in a mainline ''Street Fighter'' game. The next month, during EVO 2024, a re-release of '' SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' for Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 was announced and released that day. The following August, it was announced that the Capcom-developed titles in the series would be included in ''Capcom Fighting Collection 2'', set for release in 2025. During Tokyo Game Show in September, it was announced that Ken Masters and Chun-Li would be part of the first season of DLC for '' Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves'', similarly making them the first third-party guest characters in a ''Fatal Fury'' game. These announcements sparked speculation about a potential revival of the series, an interest acknowledged by Capcom producer Shuhei Matsumoto in an interview. In another interview, Oda stated that while there were certain hurdles in the way, they were aware of the fan demand and the odds of a revival were not impossible.

SNK-produced games

* '' SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium'' – Released for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. The game features three different playing rules to choose from (Single Battle, Tag Match, and Team Battle). The game also features an "Olympic Mode" with themed minigames based on both SNK and Capcom classic games. It was later re-released on Steam and for Nintendo Switch.
* '' SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos'' – Released for the Neo Geo and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A one-on-one fighting game featuring 36 characters. The game was later re-released for PC on the Steam and GOG digital stores, as well for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Capcom-produced games

* '' Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000'' – Released for Segas NAOMI arcade hardware in 2000 and ported to the Dreamcast during the same year, the original ''Capcom vs. SNK'' features 28 characters (evenly divided between Capcom and SNK properties), two selectable fighting styles or "grooves" (based on the gameplay systems featured in ''The King of Fighters'' and ''Street Fighter Alpha'' series) and a ratio-based character selection system that determines the number of characters in a player's team based on their strength.
** An updated version titled ''Capcom vs. SNK Pro'' was released for the arcades and Dreamcast in Japan in 2001 and ported to the PlayStation in 2002, which adds Dan Hibiki and Joe Higashi to the character roster. The Dreamcast version of the game also discards the shop option to earn extra characters and colors, having all of them available by default. This version is included in ''Capcom Fighting Collection 2''.
* '' Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001'' – Titled ''Capcom vs. SNK 2: Millionaire Fighting 2001'' in Japan. Released for the NAOMI hardware in 2001 and ported to the Dreamcast (in Japan only) and PlayStation 2 during the same year. The game expands on the "Groove" system from the previous game by featuring six different fighting styles or "Grooves" and adds twelve new characters in addition to the ones featured in ''Capcom vs. SNK Pro''. The PlayStation 2 version was later re-released as a PlayStation 2 Classics port for PlayStation 3. The arcade version is also included on ''Capcom Fighting Collection 2'', set for release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2025.
**A version for GameCube and Xbox was released under the title of ''Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO''. According to the Japanese official website for the GameCube version, ''EO'' stands for ''Easy Operation'', because of a new feature that allows the player to assign special techniques to the right analog stick (C Stick for the GameCube version). This version is also included in ''Capcom Fighting Collection 2''.

Characters

Reception

''Card Fighters DS'' and ''SVC Chaos'' had a polarized, mixed reception, with a Metacritic score of 48% and 57% respectively; although ''Chaos'' has been the subject of reappraisal as time went on, being often considered a cult classic by some outlets. The two Capcom-developed games and ''Match of the Millennium'' have fared better, with ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' achieving a Metacritic score of 81%.

In 2012, ''Complex'' ranked ''Capcom vs. SNK'' at number 38 on the list of the best video game franchises.

References

{{Capcom's VS. series

Capcom franchises
Capcom games
Neo Geo games
Fighting games
2D fighting games
Nintendo Switch games
SNK franchises
SNK games
SNK Playmore games
Fighting games by series